1. Origin
2. Modern Cultivation
3. Impact
4. Nutritional Profile
5. Dietary Concerns
6. How to Eat it
7. Recipe: Roasted Broccoli

Origin

Broccoli is a member of the cole crops (also known as cruciferous vegetables), all of which are derived from a singular species known as Brassica oleracea L.. This includes kale, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, kohlrabi, and cabbage and each of these foods share a genome with the wild type, Brassica. As with so many things, it’s difficult to prove exact origin of species, especially when it involves human cultivation and migration; however, most studies indicate Europe, broadly, as the birthplace of these Brassica plants. Very little evidence indicates Asia as a potential origin and within Europe there is a slight divide between the UK and Greece, but there is stronger evidence for the rocky shores of England. There is a fascinating paper that uses linguistic terms for “broccoli” in various ancient cultures to help identify the origin that some of you might be interested in reading. In the end, broccoli is just one form, or cultivar, of a group of plants that has been selected for it’s specific geno-/phenotype that gives us what we, today, call broccoli.